NTSB got cause of 35W bridge collapse wrong, lawyer says

Photo by mtellin

Attorneys representing 117 families of bridge collapse victims told a group of survivors and families that the National Transportation Safety Board came to the wrong conclusion about the cause of the 35W bridge collapse in 2007, says the Associated Press.

The attorneys hired experts to analyze the collapse and they found another cause for the deadly collapse on Aug. 1, 2007. More from the AP:

Attorney Chris Messerly says the experts told survivors and families of victims Tuesday night the "initiating event" wasn't the fracture of a key gusset plate in the bridge, but the failure of a horizontal beam called a chord.

He says the experts concluded the chord buckled because of heat stresses on the bridge Aug. 1, 2007, the weight of construction materials on it, and frozen roller bearings that prevented the bridge from expanding.

The failed chord then led to the gusset plate fail.